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In a 5-to-4 ruling, five judges unanimously granted the appeal by James Banes, 41, and Victoria Banes, 38, today after a ten-year-long battle.
The overjoyed pair said they did it for the ‘millions of Americans who have consensual incestuous relationships and who are living in fear’ and blasted the Government for wasting taxpayers’ money fighting their challenge.
“Incest has been practiced by humans since the dawn of time. If Adam and Eve hadn’t done it, the human race would not be here today,” James Banes told reporters after his historic victory.
The Banes family lawyer, Julianne Grey, argued that criminalizing incestuous marriage while first-cousin marriage was legal in the state of New Jersey was a nonsensical and discriminatory measure.
“Why am I allowed to bang my cousin but not my sister? It just doesn’t make any sense,” James Banes criticized outside of court.
The couple that was currently facing up to 15 years in jail said that they were now planning to start a large family and enjoy their newly found freedom.
“We’ve always dreamed of having a big family, now this dream will become a reality” added Victoria Banes, who also told reporters she is pregnant and expecting twins.
Previously, New Jersey state laws only allowed first-cousin marriages but since the landmark ruling, New Jersey is now the only state in the country to also allow incestuous marriages.
